Costa Mesa firefighters answering the call

Richard Dunn

These days, playing golf with a fireman is like playing with a

celebrity -- and the Costa Mesa Firefighters Association Charity Golf

Tournament is the town’s latest hot ticket.

The Costa Mesa Firefighters Association is challenging the

community “to get into the heat of competition and scorch some greens

for charity” in the third annual CMFA Charity Golf Tournament Oct. 7

at Costa Mesa Golf & Country Club.

The event, which raises money for the CMFA Charity Fund, is a

best-ball scramble with three flights: Men’s teams, mixed and women’s

teams.

Golfers can join the fun for $100, which includes golf with cart,

dinner banquet, auction, door prizes and contests. There will be a

shotgun start at 1:15 p.m. For details, contact tournament directors

Keith Jones at (562) 431-3768 or Doug Wilson at (909) 336-1830. The

association’s Web site is www.cmfd.com.

The Costa Mesa Firefighters Association sponsors and supports many

charities, including awarding two $500 scholarships each year to both

Estancia and Costa Mesa high schools, as well as donating to the

athletic programs at both schools.

“It’s a fun day, and there’s no better way to raise money than to

invite the community to come out and play golf with us and make some

money for charity,” said Wilson, the captain at Costa Mesa Fire

Station No. 5 (behind city hall) and the tournament’s founder.

Wilson said organizers of the event try to keep tournament fees

“halfway inexpensive” so the common player can join the event and

play golf with the city’s firemen.

“Like anything, we want it to be bigger and better and raise money

for charity, but we want to keep it at that level of $100 entry fees

so everybody can participate,” Wilson said. “The $350 entry fee is

not what we’re after ... we want to make it affordable for everybody

so they can come out and have a good time.”

Last year, the CMFA Charity Fund contributed to the New York Fire

Department 9/11 campaign relief effort and local firemen flew to New

York to donate a check.

The CMFA Charity Fund also sponsors local Little League teams and

the Costa Mesa Senior Center.

* There was a distinct Tea Cup Classic flavor in this week’s U.S.

Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Eugene Country Club in Eugene,

Ore.

Santa Ana Country Club’s Marianne Towersey, who captured her

fourth Tea Cup Classic title in five years earlier this month on her

home course, advanced to the third round of the prestigious

championship before losing to Toni Wiesner of Ft. Worth, Texas, 1 up.

Towersey, the Newport-Mesa community’s all-time leader in club

championships (18), defeated Christina Steffen of Amelia Island,

Fla., 6 and 5, in the first round, and Alicia Kapheim of Pennington,

N.J., 3 and 2, in the second round.

Mesa Verde Country Club’s Akemi Khaiat, who played in her first

Tea Cup Classic this month, lost in the first round of match play at

the U.S. Mid-Am to Shannon Silvernail of Macon, Ga., 2 and 1.

*

The Junior Amateur Golf Scholars Tour will host its first Orange

County 54-hole Junior Championship Nov. 9-11 at Black Gold Golf

Course in Yorba Linda, an event which will be nationally ranked by

Golfweek/Titleist.

JAGS is a fully accredited 501Copyright 3 organization beginning

its third season. It is Southern California’s only year-round junior

golf tour with monthly 36-hole nationally ranked tournaments.

Details: (562) 493-8416.